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Lake County Stormwater Management Commission Newsletter December 2025

Mark Your Calendar: HOA Workshop and Vendor Expo Coming Soon!

The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) is hosting a free Homeowners Association (HOA) Workshop and Vendor Expo on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at the University Center of Lake County, 1200 University Center Drive, Grayslake.

This will be a hybrid event with the workshop being open to in-person and virtual attendees starting at 5:30 p.m., while the vendor expo will be in-person only starting at 3:30 p.m. If you’re an HOA or property owner who is responsible for maintaining detention ponds, wetlands, natural areas, and other drainage infrastructure, join us to learn how to best care for these areas. This event will be accessible to individuals with disabilities. Anyone needing special assistance should contact Sharene Gould Dulabaum at least one week prior to the event.

More event information is coming soon.

HOA Vendors Wanted

Interested in being a vendor at the HOA Vendor Expo? This event will allow you to provide educational information about designing, installing, and maintaining detention ponds, wetlands, natural areas, and other drainage infrastructure for homeowners’ association and property owners. Vendor registration is open until Friday, January 16, 2026, at 3 p.m.

Space is limited, and a waitlist may be created depending on the volume of applications.

Vendor Registration Fee: $150 per table

Vendor Exhibit Time: 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

The HOA Workshop begins at 5:30 p.m. The dedicated vendor exhibit time ends at 5:30 p.m., but vendors can continue their exhibits throughout the workshop.

Visit SMC’s HOA Workshop webpage for full details about being an HOA Expo Vendor or attending the HOA Workshop. Contact Sharene Gould Dulabaum with questions.

Presenters Needed for 2026 DECI Workshop

The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) is hosting the 2026 Designated Erosion Control Inspector (DECI) Workshop on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. Look for registration information in January.

Interested In Being a Presenter?

Share your presentation to be considered for the 2026 DECI Workshop. Each year, SMC strives to provide attendees with helpful, practical, and real-world DECI-related information. If you or someone you know would be a great presenter on a relevant and interesting topic, please apply. Presentations should be between 30 to 45 minutes.

Previous attendees requested the following topics, but any related subjects will be considered:

• Case Studies
• Report Writing and Inspection Walk Through
• When and How to File Reports for Non-Compliance, Penalties, etc.
• Projects Involving Ditch Repair and Work
• Regulations Updates from IEPA, SMC, USACE
• Contractor's Perspective

As always, any topic relating to soil erosion and sediment control will be considered. The deadline to apply to present is December 31. There are great benefits to presenting at the DECI workshop!

• Highlight YOUR projects
• Celebrate your accomplishments and share your project challenges
• Connect and share your work knowledge with your peers
• Present innovative ideas, technology and solutions to a large audience
• Showcase your public speaking skills

Send your presentation topic to Mea Blauer or call (847) 377-7701.

Attend the Upcoming Watershed Management Board Meeting

Thank you to everyone who applied for 2026 Watershed Management Board (WMB) Funding! The Stormwater Management Commission’s WMB is presenting recommended project proposals for Fiscal Year 2026 funding at the December 10 WMB Meeting. Join us virtually or in-person at the second-floor conference room, 500 Winchester Road, Libertyville, at 6 p.m. Register to attend virtually. 

Projects recommended for funding by the WMB will be forwarded to the February 2026 SMC meeting for final approval and funding appropriations. The primary role of the WMB is to oversee the allocation of SMC funding and SMC staff resources for projects across the four watersheds in Lake County.

DCEO Project Honored with Award

Kurt Woolford, Executive Director of the Stormwater Management Commission, had the honor of presenting the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement, $10 to $25 million, Award to the Nicholas Dowden Park Flood Control Project by the Village of Libertyville at the 2025 American Society of Civil Engineer (ASCE) Illinois Section Annual Awards Dinner. This event took place in Chicago on October 30, with Kurt introducing the team and their work before they accepted the award.

This event honors outstanding achievements in the civil engineering community, spotlights innovative and groundbreaking projects, and celebrates dedication, service, and leadership in the field. More than 300 members and industry professionals attended.

SMC helped administer a $4.9 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to help fund the design and construction of a 12.6 million-gallon above-ground stormwater detention basin in the Nicholas Dowden Park. The project also included restoring over 10 acres of wetland BMPs, replacing an existing pump station, and installing over three miles of oversized storm sewer under streets. You can learn more about other SMC DCEO projects in the DCEO book.

Over 500 residents are positively affected by this infrastructure improvement, and now 98% of residents in this area will have protection for up to a 100-year level flood. This project was phase one of a larger, four-phase master plan to limit flooding in the Libertyville Highlands neighborhood and remedy stormwater management issues in the Seavey Ditch.

Congratulations to the team from the Village of Libertyville on their award!

Request for Proposals Now Open

The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for wetland mitigation projects within the Des Plaines River Watershed in Lake County, IL, using funds collected in the SMC Wetland Restoration Fund (WRF). The mitigation acreage goal is 6.57 acres, at a minimum, and approximately $716,395 of WRF funds are available. 

Eligibility is open to any landowner (public or private) whose ownership property lies within the Des Plaines River watershed in Lake County, IL. The proposal submission deadline is Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at 11 a.m. (CST).

The complete RFP is available on our website.

Prescribed Burns Improve CPF Campus

In last month's newsletter, we shared information about the different Best Management Practices (BMPs) at the Central Permit Facility (CPF) in Libertyville. The campus BMPs are native vegetation areas located on and around the building that help reduce stormwater runoff and pollution, improve water quality, and recharge groundwater aquifers.

One of the maintenance practices performed this fall on the BMPs was a prescribed burn. SMC contracted with Hey and Associates and McGinty Bros. to perform the prescribed burn on the campus south wetland basin, front rain garden, back rain garden and parking lot native swales in November.

Prescribed burning is an effective maintenance tool known for increasing plant diversity, helping to control invasive plant species, improving wildlife habitat, improving soil health and many more benefits. This is just one of the tools SMC uses to help maintain the BMPs on campus.

A special thank you to the CPF staff and Lake County Facilities team for their assistance in making this prescribed burn possible!

Learn more about the CPF BMPs

Attend the 2026 ILMA Conference

The Illinois Lake Management Association (ILMA) Annual Conference is taking place February 16 to 18, 2026, in Champaign for those who want to learn about a variety of lake topics from over 30 expert speakers. Register now!